Semiconductor devices are well-known in the art and have been used for decades in electronic systems to perform a wide variety of tasks. While many different types of semiconductor devices exist and are being used, most involve the transport of charge carriers (e.g., electrons) across one or more junctions or interfaces formed within the semiconductor material. The junctions typically involve an interface between two different types of semiconductor material, such as p-type and n-type material, although other types of semiconductor materials may also be used. In this manner, a wide range of semiconductor devices, such as diodes, transistors, and silicon controlled rectifiers, having a wide range of functions and operating characteristics may be formed from semiconducting materials. Commonly used semiconductor materials include, but are not limited to, silicon, gallium arsenide, aluminum gallium arsenide, and gallium arsenide indium phosphide.
Because of the wide range of devices, functions, and operating characteristics that may be created with such semiconducting materials, new devices and uses for semiconducting materials are still being developed, even today. Often, such newly developed devices prove to be significant improvements over earlier devices, either in terms of performance, size, or some combination of the two. Unfortunately, however, such new devices often carry certain disadvantages, such as requiring additional manufacturing steps, or requiring enhanced lithography or forming techniques. As a result, such newly developed semiconductor devices often involve a balance between improved performance and increased difficulty of manufacture. Accordingly, any semiconductor device having improved performance and/or reduced size while at the same time involving simplified or reduced-cost manufacturing will represent a significant improvement in the state of the art.